Protocol selection in dependence upon conversion time

ABSTRACT

A data processing system comprising: first and second network ports each operable to support a network connection configured according to one or more of a predetermined set of physical layer protocols; and a processor configured to, on a network message being formed for transmission to a network endpoint accessible over either of the first and second network ports: estimate the total time required to, for each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols, negotiate a respective network connection and transmit the entire network message over that respective network connection; select the physical layer protocol having the lowest estimate of the total time required to negotiate a respective network connection and transmit the network message over that respective network connection; and configure at least one of the first and second network ports to use the selected physical layer protocol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/868,857, filed 1 Jan. 2018 (Atty. Docket No.: LVL5 2035-4), which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/018,768, filed 8Feb. 2016 (Atty. Docket No.: LVL5 2035-3), which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/789,238, filed 7 Mar. 2013, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,391,841 on 12 Jul. 2016 (Atty. Docket No. LVL52035-2), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/667,539, filed 3 Jul. 2012 (Atty. Docket No. LVL5 2035-0), andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/677,365, filed 30 Jul. 2012(Atty. Docket No. LVL5 2035-1), all of which applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The invention invention relates to improved mechanisms for thecommunication of network messages between two network nodes on aphysical connection being established between those nodes at a physicallayer switch.

It is common practice for the release of news bulletins relating tocertain events to be tightly controlled such that the bulletins arereleased not before a scheduled time. This is particularly well known infinance where there can be significant value in being the first to haveaccess to information that could affect the markets. For example, newsbulletins carrying the details of governmental budgets or interest ratechanges by central banks are often embargoed until a predetermined time,at which point the news agencies that have been permitted to report onthe event simultaneously release their bulletins into the public domain.

News bulletins are typically embargoed until a predetermined time byproviding press reporters with access to the news information onlywithin a “lock-up room” that is isolated from the outside world, with nocommunications being permitted from the room. Within the lock-up room,the news reporters are free to draft bulletins reporting the news eventon computers provided for that purpose. However, those computers arephysically isolated from public communication networks by an “air gap”.Network messages carrying the news bulletins are therefore queued fordelivery at the transmit queues of the computers until, at thepredetermined time, a switch is thrown and a physical connection to thenews distribution network is established. Such press lock-ups are usedby the Australian and Canadian governments so as to provide for ascheduled release of Federal Budget information (seehttp:(slash)(slash)www2b.abc.net.au/guestbookcentral/entry.asp?GuestbookID=389&EntryID=755777 andhttp:(slash)(slash)www.cbc.ca/news/background/budget2006/blog.html), aswell as by the US Department of Labor.

On a connection being made from the computer to the news distributionnetwork, the physical and logical links appropriate to the communicationprotocols in use at the computer must be established so as to permit thetransmission of the queued messages onto the network. For example, whena computer in the lock-up room is reconnected to the outside world, thecomputer would typically establish a connection with a server locatedoutside of the lock-up room and configured to provide a gateway onto therespective news provider's network. If the connection were an Ethernetconnection, then a physical layer link must first be established betweenthe computer and server, over which a logical data link can subsequentlybe established to the intended endpoint receiver of the messages fromthat computer. For 100BASE-T Ethernet, the time required to establishsuch a data link layer connection can be 100 ms or more.

The advent of high speed trading has meant that significant profits canbe made by traders who are able to exploit microsecond advantages in thereceipt of financial information. Delays of tens of millisecondstherefore represent a significant length of time. Furthermore, thephysical switch by which the computers of a lock-up room are isolatedfrom the public networks will not close all of its ports simultaneously.There is typically a random distribution in its port closure timingswith millisecond order standard deviation such that the time between agiven pair of ports closing can be significant. This inadvertentlycauses the news bulletins from the lock-up computers allocated to somenews providers to be released prior to the bulletins of other providers.

There is therefore a need for an improved mechanism for the scheduledrelease of embargoed news bulletins, particularly those bulletinscarrying financial news.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided adata processing system comprising:

first and second network ports each operable to support a networkconnection configured according to one or more of a predetermined set ofphysical layer protocols; and

a processor configured to, on a network message being formed fortransmission to a network endpoint accessible over either of the firstand second network ports:

-   -   estimate the total time required to, for each of the        predetermined set of physical layer protocols, negotiate a        respective network connection and transmit the network message        over that respective network connection;    -   select the physical layer protocol having the lowest estimate of        the total time required to negotiate a respective network        connection and transmit the entire network message over that        respective network connection; and    -   configure at least one of the first and second network ports to        use the selected physical layer protocol.

Suitably the processor is operable to, on a physical link being made tothe first and second network ports a first time, cause the dataprocessing system to signal over each of the at least one or the firstand second network ports the identity of the selected physical layerprotocol for use over those respective links on those physical linksbeing made a subsequent time.

Preferably the processor is further configured to enqueue the networkmessage at a transmit queue of each of the at least one of the first andsecond network ports such that, on a physical link being made to therespective network ports, the network message is transmitted from eachof the at least one of the first and second network ports over a networkconnection established according to the selected physical layerprotocol.

Preferably the transmit queue(s) are supported in hardware at networkinterface device(s) providing the respective at least one of the firstand second network ports.

Preferably the data processing system further comprises a data storecomprising data from which the processor is configured to estimate thetotal times. Preferably the data store comprises estimates of the timerequired to negotiate network connections over the first and secondnetwork ports according to each of the predetermined set of physicallayer protocols. Preferably estimates of the time required to negotiatenetwork connections over the first and second network ports representestimates of the total time required to establish physical layer anddata link layer connections. Preferably the data store comprises datarepresenting the time required to transmit the network message as afunction of network message size over network connections configuredaccording to each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols.Preferably the time required to transmit the network message overnetwork connections configured according to each of the predeterminedset of physical layer protocols comprises the total time required totransmit the entire network message over the respective network port.

Preferably the processor is configured to apply the selected physicallayer protocol to both the first and second network ports and enqueuecopies of the network message at a transmit queue corresponding to eachof the first and second network ports such that, on physical links beingmade to the first and second network ports, the network message istransmitted in parallel over the physical links. Suitably the at leastsome of the physical layer protocols of the predetermined set ofphysical layer protocols are of the same type of physical layer protocolbut defined so as to operate at different line speeds.

Suitably the at least some of the physical layer protocols of thepredetermined set of physical layer protocols are of the same type ofphysical layer protocol but defined so as to operate with differentcompression schemes, and the estimate of the time required to, for eachof the predetermined set of physical layer protocols, transmit theentire network message over that respective network connection includesthe time required to decompress the network message were it compressedin accordance the compression scheme of the respective physical layerprotocol. The compression schemes could include deflate, LZW, and nocompression. Preferably the data store further comprises data from whichthe processor is configured to calculate the time required to decompressthe network message in accordance with each of the compression schemesof the predetermined set of physical layer protocols.

Preferably the processor is configured to perform the selection of thephysical layer protocol independently of the type of physical interfacesof the one or more physical links, the processor being operable toselect any of the set of physical layer protocols for use over any ofthe plurality of physical links.

Suitably the selected physical layer protocol for a given network portis any of 100BASE-TX, 10GBASE-T and Serial RS-485, and the physicalinterface of that network port is Ethernet RJ45.

Preferably the processor is supported at a network interface device ofthe data processing system, the processor optionally being implementedwithin an FPGA.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda system for communicating network messages between a pair of networknodes separated by a physical layer switch, the system comprising:

a first network node having a first plurality of network ports connectedto a physical layer switch; and

a second network node having a second plurality of network portsconnected to the physical layer switch and separated from the firstnetwork node by the physical layer switch;

wherein each of the first and second pluralities of network ports areoperable to support a network connection configured according to one ormore of a predetermined set of physical layer protocols and each of thefirst plurality of physical ports is arranged to correspond to one ofthe second plurality of physical ports such that, in a first mode, thephysical layer switch is operable to simultaneously provide a physicallink between each of the first plurality of physical ports and itscorresponding one of the second plurality of physical ports and, in asecond mode, the physical layer switch is operable to simultaneouslyisolate each of the first plurality of physical ports from itscorresponding one of the second plurality of physical ports;

the first network node being configured to, on forming a network messagefor transmission to a network endpoint accessible over the plurality ofphysical links:

-   -   estimate the total time required to, for each of the        predetermined set of physical layer protocols, negotiate a        respective network connection and transmit the entire network        message over that respective network connection;    -   select the physical layer protocol having the lowest estimate of        the total time required to negotiate a respective network        connection and transmit the entire network message over that        respective network connection; and    -   cause the network message to, on the physical layer switch        entering its first mode, be transmitted over one or more        physical links configured in accordance with the selected        physical layer protocol.

Preferably the first network node is configured to select the one ormore physical links by:

selecting one physical link at random;

selecting all those physical links capable of supporting a networkconnection configured in accordance with the select physical layerprotocol; or

selecting those physical links that offer the lowest estimate of thetotal time required to, for the selected physical layer protocol,negotiate a respective network connection and transmit the entirenetwork message over that respective network connection.

Preferably the first network node is operable to, on the physical layerswitch entering its first mode a first time, signal over the one or morephysical links to the second network node the identity of the selectedphysical layer protocol, the first and second network nodes beingconfigured to use the selected physical layer protocol over the one ormore physical links on the physical layer switch entering its first modemade a subsequent time.

Preferably the first network node is further configured to enqueue thenetwork message at a transmit queue of each of the one or more physicallinks such that, on the physical layer switch entering its first mode,the network message is transmitted over the one or more physical linksin accordance with the selected physical layer protocol.

Preferably each of the transmit queue(s) is supported in hardware at anetwork interface device, each transmit queue being at that networkinterface device providing the network port corresponding to therespective one of the one or more physical links.

Preferably the first network node is configured to apply the selectedphysical layer protocol to two or more physical links and to enqueuecopies of the network message at transmit queues corresponding to eachof the two or more physical links such that, on the physical layerswitch entering its first mode, the network message is transmitted inparallel over the physical links.

Preferably the second network node is configured to, on receiving copiesof the network message over the two or more physical links, keep onlythat network message received first at the second network node and todiscard all those copies of the network message that are subsequentlyreceived.

Preferably the first network node is configured to include a sequencenumber with each network message it transmits such that duplicatenetwork messages all sharing the same sequence number, and the secondnetwork node is configured to use the sequence number to identifyduplicate network messages that are to be discarded.

Suitably the at least some of the physical layer protocols of thepredetermined set of physical layer protocols are of the same type ofphysical layer protocol but defined so as to operate at different linespeeds.

Suitably the at least some of the physical layer protocols of thepredetermined set of physical layer protocols are of the same type ofphysical layer protocol but defined so as to operate with differentcompression schemes, and the estimate of the time required to, for eachof the predetermined set of physical layer protocols, transmit theentire network message over that respective network connection includesthe time required to decompress the network message were it compressedin accordance the compression scheme of the respective physical layerprotocol. The compression schemes could include deflate, LZW, and nocompression.

Preferably the selection of the physical layer protocol by the firstnetwork node is performed independently of the type of physicalinterfaces of the one or more physical links, the first network node isoperable to select any of the set of physical layer protocols for useover any of the plurality of physical links.

Preferably the selected physical layer protocol for a given physicallink is any of 100BASE-TX, 10GBASE-T and Serial RS-485, and the physicalinterfaces of that physical link are Ethernet RJ45.

Preferably the second network node further provides a link to a datanetwork over which the destination network endpoint of the networkmessage is accessible, the data network supporting communicationsaccording to a predetermined set of communication protocols, and thesecond network node is configured to convert the network message intodata packets formed in accordance with the predetermined set ofcommunication protocols.

Preferably the second network node is configured to store informationrepresenting headers for the data packets formed in accordance with thepredetermined set of communication protocols such that the secondnetwork node is operable to convert the network message into datapackets without requiring substantial generation of the headers of thedata packets in accordance with the predetermined set of communicationprotocols.

Preferably the first or second network node is configured to form afirst timestamp on the physical layer switch entering its first mode andthe second network node is configured to form a second timestamp on thenetwork message being received at the second network node, the first orsecond network node being configured to estimate from the time elapsedbetween the first and second timestamps the latency in the transmissionof the network message. Preferably the data processing system furthercomprises a data store comprising data from which the first network nodeis configured to estimate the total times. Preferably the first networknode is further operable to update data stored at its data store inresponse to the estimate of the latency in the transmission of thenetwork message.

Preferably the first and second network nodes are configured to, on thephysical layer switch entering its first mode so as to permittransmission of the network message over the one or more physical links,establish according to the selected physical layer protocol a physicallayer connection over at least some of the one or more physical linkswithout substantial re-negotiation of the link parameters of thosephysical links by using, for each of the at least some of the one ormore physical links, a set of stored link parameters defining apreviously successful physical layer connection over the respectivephysical link.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided asystem for communicating network messages between a pair of networknodes separated by a physical layer switch, the system comprising:

a first network node having a first plurality of network ports connectedto a physical layer switch; and

a second network node having a second plurality of network portsconnected to the physical layer switch and separated from the firstnetwork node by the physical layer switch;

wherein each of the first and second pluralities of network ports areoperable to support a network connection configured according to one ormore of a predetermined set of physical layer protocols and each of thefirst plurality of physical ports is arranged to correspond to one ofthe second plurality of physical ports such that, in a first mode, thephysical layer switch is operable to simultaneously provide a physicallink between each of the first plurality of physical ports and itscorresponding one of the second plurality of physical ports and, in asecond mode, the physical layer switch is operable to simultaneouslyisolate each of the first plurality of physical ports from itscorresponding one of the second plurality of physical ports;

the first network node being configured to, on the physical layer switchentering the first mode, transmit duplicate network messages over two ormore of the physical links in accordance with a selected one of thepredetermined set of physical layer protocols, and the second networknode being configured to, on receiving said duplicate network messages,discard all those duplicate network messages except the first receivednetwork message.

Preferably the first network node is configured to include a sequencenumber with each network message it transmits such that duplicatenetwork messages all sharing the same sequence number, and the secondnetwork node is configured to use the sequence number to identifyduplicate network messages that are to be discarded.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provideda system for communicating network messages between a pair of networknodes separated by a physical layer switch, the system comprising:

a first network node; and

a second network node separated from the first network node by aphysical layer switch; wherein the physical layer switch is operable toswitch between first and second modes: in the first mode the physicallayer switch providing a physical connection between the first andsecond network nodes, and in the second mode the physical layer switchisolating the first network node from the second network node;

the first and second network nodes being configured to, on the physicallayer switch entering the first mode for a first time:

establish one or more physical layer links between the first and secondnetwork nodes, the parameters of each link being negotiated between thefirst and second network nodes; and

store said parameters of each of the one or more physical layer links;

the first and second network nodes being configured to, on the physicallayer switch subsequently entering the first mode from the second mode:

read the stored parameters; and

re-establish the one or more physical layer links between the first andsecond network nodes using the stored parameters without substantialre-negotiation of the link parameters.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a system configured in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of a network node configured in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrative of the variation of latency with messagesize for various types of physical link.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context ofa particular application. Various modifications to the disclosedembodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended tobe limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widestscope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

The present invention relates to improved mechanisms by which networkmessages can be communicated between two network nodes when a physicalconnection is made between those nodes at a physical layer switch. Thepresent invention is described below by way of example with reference tothe scheduled transmission of network messages from an isolated dataprocessing system to a data processing system having access to a datanetwork. However, the present invention finds general application to thecommunication of data between two network nodes separated by a physicallayer switch. There could be additional network nodes such as other dataprocessing systems, routers and switches between the network nodes inaddition to the physical layer switch.

A schematic diagram of a system configured in accordance with thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. The system comprises a pair ofnetwork nodes 101, 102 connected to one another by means of a physicallayer switch 103. One or more physical links 104, 105, 106 extendbetween physical ports 107, 108, 109 of network node 101 andcorresponding physical ports 110, 111, 112 of network node 102. Switches113, 114, 115 of the physical layer switch 103 are operable tophysically connect and disconnect respective physical links, as shown inthe figure. When one of the switches is closed, an electrical connectionis made between the corresponding ports of network nodes 101 and 102 soas to allow physical and logical layer connections to be establishedover the respective links. Preferably the physical layer switch isoperable to open and close all of switches 113, 114 and 115 at leastapproximately simultaneously.

Network node 101 cannot transmit network messages to network node 102when the switches of physical switch 103 are open. Node 101 thereforecomprises transmit queues 120 at which its network messages can beenqueued until switch 103 connects links 104-106 between the nodes.

In many scenarios in which a pair of network nodes are separated by aphysical switch, it is important for the network messages enqueued atnode 101 to be transmitted over the links to node 102 with the lowestpossible latency when that switch 103 reconnects the physical links. Forexample, network node 101 could be a data processing system within apress lock-up at which sensitive financial news is being prepared, withnetwork messages representing news bulletins being enqueued at queues120 during the lock-up. Node 101 could be configured to receive networkmessages from multiple press computers over a local air-gap network buttypically node 101 would be just one of several press computersconnected into switch 103 For instance, switch 103 could have 48 portswith each of eight news providers being assigned 6 ports at random; ifeach network node 101 of a given news provider supported threeconnections to the switch then that network provider could operate twopairs of nodes 101 and 102 (each node 101 could connect to the same node102 or a different node 102, depending on the number of connectionssupported by node 102).

Once the scheduled time is reached and the news bulletins are to bereleased into the public domain, switch 103 would be closed and theenqueued network messages press computer 101 would begin to flow tonetwork node 102, which supports a permanent link 116 to newsdistribution network 117. Typically network nodes 101 and 102 would bothbe operated by the same news provider, with node 101 being a presscomputer at which one or more journalists of the news provider draftpress releases and node 102 being a server providing a dedicatedconnection to that news provider's data network.

In a first embodiment of the present invention, links 104, 105 and 106support (when connected) a network connection configured in accordancewith one of a predetermined set of physical layer protocols. Eachphysical layer protocol of the set could differ in the type of protocol(e.g. 100BASE-TX or Serial RS-485) and/or its line speed (e.g. a100BASE-TX physical layer could be operated at 100 Mb/s or 10 Mb/s)and/or the compression scheme in use.

When switches 113, 114 and 115 are closed so as to complete physicallinks 104, 105 and 106 between the network nodes, negotiation of theparameters of the physical layer of each link begins according to thephysical layer protocols in use over that link. For example, links 104,105 and 106 could be RS-485 serial, 100BASE-TX and a 10GBASE link (suchas 10GBASE-CR or 10GBASE-T), respectively. Each physical layerconnection would be established according to the protocol in use of therespective link and, subsequently, any required logical links would benegotiated between endpoints served over that connection prior tonetwork messages being transmitted between the first and second nodes.

Note that it is preferable that any physical layer protocol could beselected for any physical link with which it is electrically compatible.For example, 100BASE-TX 10GBASE-T and RS-485 may use twisted paircabling and it is therefore straightforward to run any of theseprotocols over a twisted pair cable, irrespective of the defaultdesignation of each physical link and the type of interfaces provided atthe respective network ports of the network interface device and switch(e.g. any of 100BASE-TX, 10GBASE-T and RS-485 physical layer protocolscould be configured to operate over twisted pair cabling terminated byEthernet RJ45 connectors).

The time required to establish physical and logical layer connectionsand then to transmit a network message over that link depends on severalfactors, including the particular protocol in use, the line speed atwhich that protocol is to operate, and the size of the network messageto be transmitted. The time taken to establish physical and logicalconnections and to transmit a network message over a link for the threeexemplary protocols 10 Mb RS-485 serial, 100BASE-TX and 10GBASE-CR (alloperating at their maximum line speeds) is shown in FIG. 3 as a functionof network message size. It can be seen from the figure that 10GBASE-CRexhibits consistently lower connection latency than 100BASE-TX, but thatfor small message sizes of less than around 100 kB, 10 Mb RS-485 serialoffers lower latency. This is because the lower overhead required toestablish an RS-485 link dominates at small message sizes. At largermessage sizes, the greater bandwidth of 100BASE-TX and 10GBASE-CRbecomes significant.

In accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention,network node 101 is configured to, for each network message, selectbetween the different physical layer protocols available fortransmitting the message to node 102. This selection is performed independence on the size of the network message and the time required tonegotiate a connection according to each physical layer protocol so asto minimise the latency associated with transmitting the message whenthe links are connected by switch 103. For example, with reference toFIG. 3, it is optimal to transmit messages that are less than 100 kB insize over serial link 104, and messages over 100 kB in size over10GBASE-CR link 106.

Network node 101 comprises a processor 118 configured to perform theselection of the physical layer protocol and cause one or more of thephysical links 104-106 to be configured in accordance with that selectedprotocol. Processor 118 could be any suitable processor, including ageneral purpose processor (e.g. a CPU) of network node 101 arranged toexecute suitable software, a processor dedicated to supporting networkfunctionalities of the network node, or a combination of softwaresupported at a general purpose processor with a dedicated processor.Preferably processor 118 is at least partly supported at a hardwareprocessor of a network interface device of the network node.

Some physical links may be constrained in terms of the physical layerprotocols they can supported. In this case it can be advantageous toallocate network messages to those links even if they offer higherlatency when the transmission of that network packet is considered inisolation. For example, if link 105 is constrained to support only100BASE-TX, that link could be used for a network message once thetransmit queues 120 at node 101 corresponding to links 104 and 106(which have been selected to support lower latency protocols) havefilled to the extent that the network message would arrive at node 102sooner once switch 103 is closed than if the network message were queuedfor transmission over links 104 and 106 that on the face of it providelower latency when that network message is considered in isolation. Thiscould be applied as a secondary criterion when network node 101 performsthe selection between available links 104-106 but would not normally berequired in the case that network node 101 is located within a presslockup because typically only one or two messages are enqueued duringlockup periods. In the event that the network node has multiple messagesto transmit, the node is preferably configured to allocate shortmessages to lower latency links and long messages to high bandwidthlinks. For example, if the network node has multiple short messages andone long message to transmit, the node would allocate the long messageto a 100BASE-TX link and the short messages to a lower latency link.

Switch 103 is configured to, when the two nodes are to be reconnected,simultaneously connect the physical links between the nodes. This allowsthe nodes to negotiate and establish the necessary physical and logicalconnections over each of the links and transmit the network messages inparallel over their selected links. Since each network message has beenassigned to a link configured to use the physical layer protocol thatwill allow that message to be delivered at the optimum latency, this hasthe effect that the network messages at node 101 are efficientlyconveyed to node 102. Only three links are shown in FIG. 1, buttypically physical switch 103 would support many more. For example,switch 103 could be operable to switch up to 100 links extending betweenpairs of nodes such as node pair 101 and 102.

In order to allow onward transmission of the network messages, it may benecessary to configure node 102 to convert the network messages from oneprotocol to another. For example, node 102 would typically have apermanent Ethernet link 116 to network 117 (e.g. the news distributionnetwork) and network messages received at node 102 according to theRS-485 serial protocol would therefore need to be re-framed according tothe relevant Ethernet protocol before onward transmission onto network117. It is preferable that network messages sent between nodes 101 and102 are not encapsulated for onward transmission according to theprotocols in use over link 116, with the formation of the data packetsbeing performed at node 102 by converting the network messages receivedin accordance with the selected protocols to data packets carrying thenetwork messages in a form suitable for transmission over link 116. Suchconversion could be performed in hardware at a suitably programmednetwork interface device or other processor at node 102. In embodimentsof the present invention, selection between the available physical layerprotocols could be further performed in dependence on the time overheadassociated with performing protocol conversion at node 102. Thus, for agiven message size, the time required to perform protocol conversionwould be added to the time required to establish a connection andtransmit a network message to node 102.

In order to mitigate the time overhead associated with performingprotocol conversion, it can be advantageous to arrange that node 102store information representing headers for data packets in accordancewith the communication protocols in use over link 116. For example, ifnetwork messages are transmitted onwards over link 116 according toEthernet/IP/UDP then information representing suitable UDP headers couldbe stored at node 102 ready for the moment when switch 103 connectsnodes 101 and 102 together. In the example in which node 101 is acomputer in a press lockup and node 102 is operated by the owner of thatpress computer this can be readily arranged since the destinationaddress of the network messages can be known to node 102. Certain fieldsof the headers, such as checksums, can be calculated on receiving thenetwork message payload, as is known in the art.

It is advantageous if additionally or alternatively, node 101 isconfigured to select from a predetermined set of data compressionschemes available for a given link (e.g. a deflate or LZW algorithm).Compressing a network message would typically reduce its size and hencecould allow that message to be transmitted at a lower latency than wouldotherwise be possible once the switch connects the physical link (i.e.because there is less data to transmit and it therefore takes less timeand/or because smaller messages can be selected to be sent over aconnection that can be more established at a lower latency, as describedabove). However, the time taken to decompress each network message atnode 102 must be taken into account if the net latency experienced by agiven message is to be reduced. The time taken to compress a networkmessage is not relevant since the physical link is not connected whenthe messages are enqueued.

Node 101 is therefore preferably configured to select a compressionscheme (or no compression at all) in dependence on the estimated time itwould take node 102 to decompress the network message. The compressionscheme that is likely to allow a message to be transmitted with thelowest latency would be selected; if no compression scheme improved onthe transmission latency estimated for a network message then themessage would not be compressed. Most preferably, node 101 isadditionally configured to perform the physical layer protocol selectionof the first embodiment of the present invention so as to transmit agiven network message with that selection of compression scheme andphysical link that minimises the latency associated with thetransmission of that message. In other words, the node 101 would beconfigured to select the optimum combination of physical layer protocoland compression scheme in dependence on a function of message size anddecompression time.

Preferably node 101 stores data representing the time required todecompress network messages of varying sizes according to the availablecompression schemes. This data could be, for example, in the form ofempirical data, algorithms or mathematical equations.

When the nodes are connected by switch 103, node 101 could be configuredto identify the compression schemes supported by each of the links tonode 102. This identification could be performed during negotiation ofthe connections over a link or by means of any other suitable mechanism.The data compression schemes available for a link could be determined bythe communication protocols in use over that link when the link isconnected. Since links 104-106 are private links with node 102 beingoperable to bridge the links to the wider network 117, the protocolsand/or compression schemes used over the links need not adhere to theconventional set of protocols and/or compression schemes that arenormally defined or used over such physical links. The protocols and/orcompression schemes in use over the links could be proprietary.

The present invention recognises that because network messages areenqueued at the transmitting node for later (optionally scheduled)transmission, it is acceptable to perform some processing at thetransmitting node so as to minimise the latency associated withtransmitting network messages to the receiving node when the physicallink is connected. Thus, node 101 has time to determine the best mode oftransmission for each data packet. Preferably, prior to switch 103closing and connecting the nodes together so as to allow thetransmission of network messages to occur, node 101 is configured tosignal to node 102 the physical layer protocol selected for each link.This can be achieved by having the switch briefly connect one or morephysical links for the purpose of transmitting the selected physicallayer protocol information to node 102. This allows node 101 toestablish connections according to the selected protocols as soon asswitch 103 closes, and without having to first wait for informationidentifying the selected protocols to be transmitted to node 102.Alternatively, node 101 could be configured to send a short identifier(e.g. a predetermined signal or symbol) over each link when switch 103closes so as to identify the selected physical layer protocol for eachlink to node 102.

It is further advantageous if, nodes 102 and 101 are configured toperform timestamping over links 104-106 so as to identify the latencyassociated with transmitting network messages of varying sizes betweenthe nodes. For example, node 101 and/or 102 could be configured to forma connect timestamp when switch 103 establishes a physical link betweennodes 101 and 102, and node 102 would be configured to subsequently forma receive timestamp indicating when each network message is received atnode 102. This mechanism allows one or both nodes to determine thelatency associated with successfully transmitting a network message ofknown size from node 101 to node 102 over a given link according to agiven physical layer protocol. The receive timestamps could betransmitted from node 102 to node 101 so as to inform node 101 of thelatency experienced by each message (this information is not latencysensitive and could be performed over any suitable link so as to notdelay the communication of network messages between the nodes).

In the case that node 101 is configured to select between a set ofcompression schemes, the receive timestamp could indicate when eachnetwork message has been successfully decompressed at node 102 so as toallow node 101 to receive empirical information describing the latencyexperienced by the messages it has transmitted.

Node 101 could support a data store storing estimated latency values foreach physical layer protocol of a predetermined set for a range ofnetwork messages sizes and optionally data compression schemes. Thelatency values could include, for each physical layer protocol (andoptionally on a per-port basis), the time taken to establish a dataconnection over a link according to that protocol. The data store couldalso store data expressing the latency associated with messagetransmission—e.g. for a given line speed and protocol, the time requiredto transmit a network message of a given size onto the wire. Thetimestamp information could be used to update the latency values at thedata store, and hence can be used to inform the physical layer protocolselection (and optionally compression scheme) for each message by node101. Alternatively or additionally, the data store could hold algorithmsor mathematical equations representing estimated variation of latencyvalues with network message size (and optionally compression scheme) foreach physical layer protocol. Node 101 could be configured to formabsolute values of the estimated latency for a message, or relativevalues expressing the relative latencies of the physical layer protocolsfor a given message.

It can be advantageous to arrange that switch 103 connect nodes 101 and102 for the purposes of calibrating the latency values held at the datastore. For example, in the case that node 101 is located in a presslock-up, switch 103 could connect nodes 101 and 102 prior to theestablishment of the lock-up in order for test messages of varying sizesto be transmitted over the links 104-106 and the respective calibratedlatency values to be stored at the data store. Nodes 101 and 102 couldbe configured to continuously update the latency values in dependence onthe timestamping performed at node 102 and/or node 101.

Preferably node 101 is configured to enqueue the network messages inhardware, with transmit queues 120 being provided at a hardware devicesuch as a network interface device. Such a node 101 configured inaccordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. The nodecomprises a data processing system 201 and a network interface device202. The data processing system supports an operating system kernel 205and at least one application 207.

The network interface device supports a plurality of network ports 107,108 and 109, and the transmit queues 120. Three transmit queues areshown, one for each network port, but there could be any number ofqueues in any suitable configuration. Typically the queues would besupported at a memory 204, which could be part of, or coupled to, anFPGA processor which could be supported at a NIC or other peripheraldevice. Providing the queues in hardware avoids the need for thegeneration of an interrupt to cause the operating system to releasenetwork messages enqueued at software queues. This also enables themessages to be released in parallel

-   -   for example, without crossing a bus shared between network cards        each supporting one or more of ports 107-109, or other devices        connected to the bus.

Optionally, data processing system 201 supports a user-level networkstack 206 configured to provide a low-latency data path to the networkinterface device that avoids kernel 205 (as indicated by the arrows inthe figure). In alternative embodiments, transmit queues 120 could besoftware queues supported on the low latency data path—this at leastprovides a lower latency transmit path (compared to a conventionalkernel-mediated transmit path) once the switch connects node 101 acrossair gap 203 to the network.

Preferably nodes 101 and 102 have a number of ports operable to supportbetween them multiple parallel links configured according to the samephysical layer protocols. It is in this case advantageous if node 101 isconfigured to duplicate each network message to be transmitted over alink of a given type and transmit a copy of the network message over twoor more links of that type supporting the same physical layer protocol.This can be achieved by enqueueing network messages at transmit queuescorresponding to multiple links. It is most preferable if the messagesare queued in hardware, as described above. Duplicating messages overmultiple links builds in redundancy so as to avoid lost packets causingsignificant delays to the time required to successfully transmit anetwork message between the nodes (e.g. while retransmission of thepacket(s) occurs).

Furthermore, for scenarios in which there are multiple pairs of nodes101 and 102 connected across switch 103 (such as the case in which node101 is one of several press computers held in a lock-up), the variationin the time taken for a connection to be established over physical linksof the same type becomes the dominant contribution to the variation inthe time taken for each originating node (e.g. node 101) to transmit itsmessage(s). The variation in the time taken for a connection to beestablished over a physical link arises because the time required tonegotiate the necessary physical and logical layer connections over alink of a given type when switch 103 closes displays inherent randomvariation. For commonly deployed physical layer switches, this variationis of the order of 1 ms. By arranging that a network node enqueue anetwork message for simultaneous transmission over all of the links ofthe selected type, this variation can be minimised because each messagehas the opportunity to travel over the link that first establishes theconnection for that node.

It is generally not preferable to allow duplicate messages to betransmitted onwards from node 102. Preferably node 102 is thereforeconfigured to remove duplicate messages that arrive after the firstnetwork message. In this manner, only the first network message toarrive is retained and transmitted onwards onto network 117. Preferablythe removal of duplicate messages is performed in hardware (e.g. at anetwork interface device of node 102) so as to minimise the latencyintroduced by the processing overhead associated with the removal ofduplicate messages.

It can be advantageous to duplicate messages over links of differenttypes (for example, an RS-485 serial link and a 10GBASE-CR Ethernetlink) in order to reduce the possibility of a network message beingdropped. In other words, the redundancy benefits can be achieved even ifthe network messages are sent over different types of link. In thiscase, node 101 would be configured to transmit information to node 102sufficient to allow node 102 to identify each set of duplicate messagessent over links of different types. Preferably, node 101 would beconfigured to encapsulate each network message with a sequence numbersuch that when that encapsulated network message is sent over multiplelinks, each of the duplicated messages share that same sequence number.This allows node 102 to filter out duplicate messages without beingrequired to reassemble each network message in order to determinewhether that message has already been received. Node 102 wouldpreferably be configured to remove the encapsulation prior totransmitting onto network 117 the first-received of each networkmessage.

In embodiments of the present invention, all of the physical links104-106 between the nodes 101 and 102 could be arranged to support thesame physical layer protocol, with each network message being sent overtwo or more such links. Such embodiments would provide the advantagesdiscussed above without the requirement for the nodes to support linksof different types. Node 102 would preferably be configured to removeduplicate messages that arrive after the first network message.

In all embodiments of the present invention it is advantageous if thetransmitting and receiving nodes 101 and 102 are configured to storestate of a physical layer connection so as to allow that connection tobe re-established when the underlying physical link is connected by theswitch without requiring initial re-negotiation of the link. If theconnection cannot be reestablished the link can fall back to performinga conventional negotiation of physical parameters for the connection.For example, in the case of an Ethernet link there is an establishedinitial negotiation of the parameters of a link to adapt the link to thephysical characteristics of the communication channel (e.g. length,cable quality, bending, ambient noise). With Ethernet the negotiatingnodes may also exchange parameters that should be used to assist signalprocessing; e.g. 10GBASE-T contains an encoding at the transmitter whichrequires that the receiver understand the encoding coefficients. Byarranging that nodes 101 and 102 store those parameters the nodes can beenabled to more rapidly reinstate a connection when the physical link isreconnected by switch 103 because the initial negotiation of thephysical parameters of the physical layer connection is not required andcan be omitted.

When the physical link is re-connected, the nodes can attempt tore-establish the physical layer connection (assuming it remains of thesame protocol) by using the set of stored parameters describing thestate of the connection. Some signaling would generally be necessary inorder to re-establish a connection but there would be no need tonegotiate the line speed or other physical layer protocol options. Thismechanism can be further used to omit the negotiation of link speedduring establishment of a physical layer connection for protocols thatsupport multiple link speeds. Since it can be known in advance the linkspeed that can be supported over links 104-106 for the various physicallayer protocols, the nodes 101 and 102 can be configured to omit thenegotiation of link speed during re-establishment of a connection andinstead bring up the link at a pre-determined line speed.

A network interface device as described herein could be any suitabledevice, such as a peripheral card or a LAN-on-motherboard (LOM) device.The ports of each node would typically be provided at a networkinterface device. For example, a NIC might provide a set of conventional10GBASE-CR ports and be coupled to a daughterboard supporting an FPGAconfigured to provide a set of RS-485 serial ports.

The network nodes described herein could be any kind of data processingsystem, such as a server, personal computer, or a logical switch (e.g. alayer 2 switch).

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual featuredescribed herein and any combination of two or more such features, tothe extent that such features or combinations are capable of beingcarried out based on the present specification as a whole in the lightof the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art,irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solveany problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope ofthe claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the presentinvention may consist of any such individual feature or combination offeatures. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to aperson skilled in the art that various modifications may be made withinthe scope of the invention.

1. A first network node comprising: one or more network ports each operable to support a network connection configured according to one or more of a predetermined set of physical layer protocols, said one or more network ports physically connected to corresponding network ports of a second network node by respective physical links; and a processor configured to, on a network message being formed for transmission to a network endpoint accessible over either of the one or more network ports: estimate the time required to, for each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols at least: negotiate a respective network connection, transmit the network message over that respective network connection, and perform protocol conversion for the network message at the second network node; select one of the physical layer protocols in dependence upon the estimates of the time for each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols; and configure at least one of the one or more network ports to use the selected physical layer protocol.
 2. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to cause the network message to be transmitted to the second network node over the at least one of the one or more network ports in accordance with the selected physical layer protocol.
 3. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first network ports and the second network ports is operable to support a network connection according to any of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols.
 4. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: store in a memory of the first network node, one or more parameters representing the configuration of the at least one of the one or more network ports to use the selected physical layer protocol; and re-establish a connection over the respective physical links using the stored one or more parameters.
 5. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is operable to cause the first network node to signal over each of the at least one or more of the one or more network ports, the identity of the selected physical layer protocol for use over the respective links.
 6. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the estimates of the time required to negotiate a respective network connection for a physical layer protocol comprises an estimate of the time required to establish a data link layer connection.
 7. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the processor is configured to, for each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols, determine the estimate of the time in dependence upon a size of the network message.
 8. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least some of the physical layer protocols of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols are of the same type of physical layer protocol, but defined so as to operate at different line speeds.
 9. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first network node comprises a network interface device comprising the processor, wherein the processor comprises a field programmable gate array configured to perform the estimating, selecting and configuring steps.
 10. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more network ports comprises first and second network ports, wherein the processor is configured to apply the selected physical layer protocol to both the first and second network ports by enqueuing copies of the network message at transmit queues corresponding to each of the first and second network ports such that, on physical links being made to the first and second network ports, the network message is transmitted in parallel over the physical links.
 11. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of physical layer protocols comprises one or more of: 100BASE-TX, 10GBASE-T and Serial RS-485.
 12. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more network ports comprises first and second network ports, wherein each of the first and second network ports is physically connected to its corresponding network port on the second network node by a physical layer switch, wherein in a first mode, the physical layer switch is operable to simultaneously provide a physical link between each of the first and second network ports and its corresponding network port on the second network node and, in a second mode, the physical layer switch is operable to simultaneously isolate each of the first and second ports from its corresponding network port on the second network node.
 13. A first network node as claimed in claim 12, wherein the one or more network ports comprises first and second network ports, wherein the processor configured to enqueue the network message at transmit queues of each of the first and second network ports such that, on the physical layer switch entering its first mode, the network message is transmitted over the at least one of the first and second network ports according to the selected physical layer protocol.
 14. A first network node as claimed in claim 12, wherein the processor configured to, prior to the physical layer switch entering the first mode, signal to the second node, the selected physical layer protocol.
 15. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of the respective physical links are constrained to support only some of the physical layer protocols.
 16. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more network ports comprises first and second network ports, wherein each of the first and second network ports is configured to send messages to the second network node using a different physical layer protocol, wherein each of the first and second network ports is associated with a transmit queue for storing messages for delivery to the second network node, wherein the processor is configured to perform the selection of the physical layer protocol in dependence upon a utilisation level of the transmit queues for storing messages.
 17. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, comprising a data store comprising data from which the processor is configured to estimate the times.
 18. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protocol conversion for the network message at the second network node comprises converting the network message to a format suitable for transmission over a network to which the second network node is connected.
 19. A first network node as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protocol conversion comprises converting the network message to a protocol comprising one of: Ethernet; TCP/IP; and UDP.
 20. A method for use in a first network node comprising one or more network ports, each operable to support a network connection configured according to one or more of a predetermined set of physical layer protocols, said one or more network ports physically connected to corresponding network ports of a second network node by respective physical links, the method comprising: on a network message being formed for transmission to a network endpoint accessible over either of the one or more network ports: estimate the time required to, for each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols at least: negotiate a respective network connection, transmit the network message over that respective network connection, and perform protocol conversion for the network message at the second network node; select one of the physical layer protocols in dependence upon the estimates of the time for each of the predetermined set of physical layer protocols; and configure at least one of the one or more network ports to use the selected physical layer protocol. 